Flying Hamster has a game timer, so it's easy to see how much time you've spent in it (I'm currently at 11 credits, which translates to between 3 and 3.5 hours--I think it was something like 3 hours, 7 minutes). However, with Ace Armstrong, you'd have to somehow track the amount of time yourself . . . which I didn't do. However, I'll throw out a guess of, say, somewhere between 8-10 hours? I'm sure I played more Ace pre-update than I've played Flying Hamster in total, trying repeatedly to get farther into the game, and then I played more Ace post-update, successfully getting a 1CC on Rookie, finally. Then, after that, I made a few runs on Pro and Elite (never 1CC'd either, but came as close as is possible on Pro!). Add those all up, and it's probably around 8-10 hours.
Incidentally, the stage select menu option in Flying Hamster (which lets you continue from where you last died) apparently does not appear in the iOS version until after you've beaten the whole game once. This is because the game is supposedly easier on the touchscreen. Had this been the case with the Minis version, I probably would have spent more time with it early on, retrying over and over in order to see the end, just like with Ace.
I think Flying Hamster has superior presentation (again, the whole thing about Ace being devoid of dialogue left a hole in its personality), and it seems more akin to retro scrolling shooters in general feel (the level designs are reminiscent of Gradius to me, particularly the high-speed section, and the music has a great retro shooting vibe, too). But, I think Ace has more enjoyable boss fights, and the levels are more fun to navigate; Stage 3 is my favorite Ace level. I really wish Ace had a stage select option, just for practice and quick play sessions (i.e., you pick a stage, but gameplay ends when that stage ends), especially given its "remember where you need to be not to die" R-Type-ish nature.
